Method of making folding hand tool set for bicycles

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a tool for use in a folding hand tool set includes the following steps. Firstly, a metallic rod is provided. Next, a working end and a shank portion are formed on opposite ends of the metallic rod. The shank portion has a regular polygonal cross-section. The working end has a maximum external diameter (Z) is smaller than a maximum external diameter (Y) of the shank portion. Then, the shank portion is flattened into a flat, generally oblong portion by a stamping press, wherein the flattened shank portion has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion. And the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end. Finally, a hole is punched in an end of the flattened shank portion opposite the working end to complete the tool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of making tools for use in a folding hand tool set, and more particularly to a method of making the tools in a cost-effective manner, without sacrifice of quality.

2. Description of the Related Art

Hand tools are typically discrete items that can be easily misplaced. To overcome this problem, various hand tool set holders have been developed in which a plurality of hand tools is secured in a moveable manner so as to avoid individual tools being lost.

One type of a hand tool set is illustrated in U.S. Design Pat. No. D542,111, in which each tool defines an engaging hole to be pivotally connected to a housing member of the hand tool set. Besides, each of the tools in the tool set has a predetermined generally flat shank portion to save the materials. It is understood that the tool was cut from a flat piece of metal blank with a constant thickness that is decided before the driving end or the working end is machined using a lathe.

Another type of a hand tool set is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 8,250,951. In this tool set, a tool is made from a hexagonal rod body with a 9-shaped connecting end to be pivotally connected to a housing member of the hand tool set. The tool includes a driving end formed on a proximal end of the rod body for performing a specific procedure and a connecting end formed on a distal end of the rod body by bending the distal end. The distal end is formed with a rectangular cross section prior to forming the connecting end. The connecting end is formed such that it extends in a path away from the body initially and towards the body at last and encloses a space. In short, the connecting end is generally formed by flattening, cutting and finally bending; however, the distal end is harden and becomes increasingly brittle during the flattening process, the further bending process of the harden distal end can easily break the end, causing a failure to form the connecting end.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new method for forming a tool for use in a folding hand tool set.

Briefly described, the method of this invention includes the following steps. Firstly, a metallic rod is provided. Next, a working end and a shank portion are formed on opposite ends of the metallic rod. The shank portion has a regular polygonal cross-section. The working end has a maximum external diameter (Z) is smaller than a maximum external diameter (Y) of the shank portion. Then, the shank portion is flattened into a flat, generally oblong shank portion by a stamping press, wherein the flattened shank portion has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion. And the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end. Finally, a hole is punched in an end of the flattened shank portion opposite the working end to complete the tool.

Preferred embodiments of the invention may have the following additional characteristics, either alone or in combination:

The step (d) further includes trimming the flattened shank portion, in which the trimming and the punching the hole are performed at the same time in a single punch process.

Alternatively, the step (c) further includes trimming the shank portion, in which the trimming and flattening the shank portion are performed at the same time in a single punch process.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for making a tool for use in a folding hand tool set in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a metallic rod with a hexagonal cross-section;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a metallic rod with a circular cross-section;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 3, being machined and shaped to include a working end and a shank portion;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 4, being flattened to transform the shank portion into a flat, generally oblong shank portion;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is another side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 6, being punched to include a hole;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a folding hand tool set equipped with the tool of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a method for making a tool for use in a folding hand tool set in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a semi-finished metallic rod for the method of FIG. 11, being machined and shaped to include a working end and a shank portion;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 12, being flattened to transform the shank portion into a flat, generally oblong shank portion;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is another side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 14, being punched and trimmed in a single punch process;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a method for making a tool for use in a folding hand tool set in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a semi-finished metallic rod for the method of FIG. 18, being machined and shaped to include a working end and a shank portion;

FIG. 20 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 19, being flattened and trimmed in a single punch process;

FIG. 22 is a side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is another side view of the metallic rod shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the metallic rod of FIG. 21, being punched to include a hole for assembly;

FIG. 25 is a view similar to the tool of FIG. 24, except that the tool is trimmed to include a rounded end; and

FIG. 26 is a side view of the tool of FIG. 25.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With respect to FIGS. 1-10, there is shown a method of making a tool 10 (see FIG. 9) for use in a folding hand tool set 100 (see FIG. 10) in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The method includes the following steps 101-104, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In step 101, a metallic rod 10 or 11 is provided, as depicted in FIG. 2 or 3. As is shown, the metallic rod 10 may has a hexagonal cross section as in FIG. 10 or a circular cross section as in FIG. 11. They are both suitable for being machined using a lathe which rotates the workpiece on its axis to perform various operations such as cutting, drilling, or deformation, to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation. Thus, this type of the metallic rod 10 or 11 can be accessed and processed easily for mass production.

With respect to FIG. 4, in step 102, the metallic rod 10 for example is then machined by the lathe to have a working end 11, a shank portion 12 opposite the working end 11, and a transition portion 14 interposed in between the working end 11 and the shank portion 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the working end 11, such as a hex-head key, has a maximum external diameter (Z), and the shank portion 12 has a regular polygonal cross-section and a maximum external diameter (Y). It is noted that the maximum external diameter (Y) of the shank portion 12 is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. It is also noted that the regular polygonal cross-section implies that the metallic rod 1 or 2 can easily accessed and machined by the lathe in a known manner. It is appreciated that when the metallic rod 2 of FIG. 3 is used, the regular polygonal cross-section of the metallic rod 2 is a circle with an infinite number of sides.

In step 103, the shank portion 12 of the metallic rod 2 is flattened by a stamping press into a flat, generally oblong shank portion 12 a, as depicted in FIG. 6. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the flattened shank portion 12 a has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion 12; and the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion 12 a is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. This ensures that the density of the flattened shank portion 12 a is strengthen during the flattening process, without excess stress generated so that no further decarburizing annealing process will be needed to release the stress.

In step 104, the flattened shank portion 12 a is punched a hole 13 in an end thereof and renumbered as 12 b, as depicted in FIG. 9. As shown, the tool 10 now has the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 b and the transition portion 14 between the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 b. More specifically, the transition portion 14 includes a cylindrical section 141 proximate to the working end 11, and a conical frustum 142 disposed in between the cylindrical section 141 and the flattened shank portion 12 b. Note that the cylindrical section 141 has a diameter greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. And the conical frustum 142 is tapered from the flattened shank portion 12 a to the cylindrical section 141. The tool 10 is now ready to be incorporated in the folding hand tool set 100, as shown in FIG. 10.

With reference to FIGS. 11-17, there is shown a method of making a tool 10 (see FIG. 17) in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The method includes the following steps 201-204, as illustrated in FIG. 11.

In step 201, a metallic rod 10 or 11 is provided. The metallic rod 10 or 11 is identical to that in FIG. 2 or 3 in the first embodiment. In step 202, the metallic rod 10 for example is then machined by a lathe to have a working end 11, a shank portion 12 opposite the working end 11, and a transition portion 14 interposed in between the working end 11 and the shank portion 12, as shown in FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 13, the working end 11, such as a hex-head key, has a maximum external diameter (Z), and the shank portion 12 has a regular polygonal cross-section and a maximum external diameter (Y). It is noted that the maximum external diameter (Y) of the shank portion 12 is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. It is also noted that the regular polygonal cross-section implies that the metallic rod 1 or 2 can easily accessed and machined by the lathe in a known manner. It is appreciated that when the metallic rod 2 is used, the regular polygonal cross-section of the metallic rod 2 is a circle with an infinite number of sides.

In step 203, the shank portion 12 of the metallic rod 2 is flattened by a stamping press into a flat, generally oblong shank portion 12 a, as depicted in FIG. 14. With reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the flattened shank portion 12 a has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion 12; and the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion 12 a is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. This ensures that the density of the flattened shank portion 12 a is strengthen during the flattening process, without excess stress generated so that no further decarburizing annealing process will be needed to release the stress.

In step 204, the flattened shank portion 12 a is punched a hole 13 in an end thereof and renumbered as 12 b, as depicted in FIG. 17. In particular, during the hole punching process, the flattened shank portion 12 b is also trimmed. That is, the trimming and the punching the hole are performed at the same time in a single punch process. As shown in FIG. 17, the tool 10 now has the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 b and the transition portion 14 between the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 b. More specifically, the transition portion 14 includes a cylindrical section 141 proximate to the working end 11, and a conical frustum 142 disposed in between the cylindrical section 141 and the flattened shank portion 12 b. Note that the cylindrical section 141 has a diameter greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. And the conical frustum 142 is tapered from the flattened shank portion 12 a to the cylindrical section 141. The tool 10 is now ready to be incorporated in a folding hand tool set 100, as shown in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment.

With reference to FIGS. 18-24, there is shown a method of making a tool 10 a (see FIG. 24) in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. The method includes the following steps 301-304, as illustrated in FIG. 18.

In step 301, a metallic rod 10 or 11 is provided. The metallic rod 10 or 11 is identical to that in FIG. 2 or 3 in the first embodiment. In step 302, the metallic rod 10 for example is then machined by a lathe to have a working end 11, a shank portion 12 opposite the working end 11, and a transition portion 14 interposed in between the working end 11 and the shank portion 12, as shown in FIG. 19. As shown in FIG. 20, the working end 11, such as a hex-head key, has a maximum external diameter (Z), and the shank portion 12 has a regular polygonal cross-section and a maximum external diameter (Y). It is noted that the maximum external diameter (Y) of the shank portion 12 is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. It is also noted that the regular polygonal cross-section implies that the metallic rod 1 or 2 can easily accessed and machined by the lathe in a known manner. It is appreciated that when the metallic rod 2 is used, the regular polygonal cross-section of the metallic rod 2 is a circle with an infinite number of sides.

In step 303, the shank portion 12 of the metallic rod 2 is flattened by a stamping press into a flat, generally oblong shank portion 12 c, as depicted in FIG. 20. In particular, during the flattening or stamping process, the flattened shank portion 12 c is also trimmed. That is, the trimming and the flattening are performed at the same time in a single punch process. With reference to FIGS. 22 and 23, the flattened shank portion 12 c has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion 12; and the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion 12 c is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. This ensures that the density of the flattened shank portion 12 c is strengthen during the flattening process, without excess stress generated so that no further decarburizing annealing process will be needed to release the stress.

In step 304, the flattened shank portion 12 c is punched a hole 13 in an end thereof and renumbered as 12 d, as depicted in FIG. 24. As shown, the tool 10 a now has the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 d and the transition portion 14 between the working end 11, the flattened shank portion 12 d. More specifically, the transition portion 14 includes a cylindrical section 141 proximate to the working end 11, and a conical frustum 142 disposed in between the cylindrical section 141 and the flattened shank portion 12 d. Note that the cylindrical section 141 has a diameter greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end 11. And the conical frustum 142 is tapered from the flattened shank portion 12 d to the cylindrical section 141. The tool 10 a is now ready to be incorporated in a folding hand tool set 100, as shown in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, during the flattening or stamping process in step 303, the flattened shank portion 12 c may be trimmed to include an rounded end 120 in such a way that after the hole punching process in step 304, a tool 10 b with the flattened shank portion 12 e having a rounded end 120 is completed.

It will be apparent that various modifications may be made to the above specifically described structural arrangements without departing from the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for producing a tool for use in a folding hand tool set, the method comprising: (a). providing a metallic rod; (b). forming the metallic rod with a working end with a maximum external diameter (Z) and a shank portion opposite the working end with a regular polygonal cross-section and a maximum external diameter (Y) greater than that of the working end; (c). flattening the shank portion into a flat, generally oblong shank portion by a stamping press, wherein the flattened shank portion has a thickness (X) more than or equal to a half of the maximum external diameter (Y) of the original shank portion, and the thickness (X) of the flattened shank portion is greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end; and (d). punching a hole in an end of the flattened shank portion opposite the working end.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the regular polygonal cross-section of the metallic rod is a circle with an infinite number of sides.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step (d) further including trimming the flattened shank portion, and the trimming and the punching the hole are performed at the same time in a single punch process.
 4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step (c) further including trimming the shank portion, and the trimming and flattening the shank portion are performed at the same time in a single punch process.
 5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein in the step (c), the shank portion is punched and trimmed to include an rounded end.
 6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step (b) further including forming the metallic portion with a transition portion between the working end and the shank portion.
 7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the transition portion includes a cylindrical section proximate to the working end with a diameter greater than the maximum external diameter (Z) of the working end, and a conical frustum disposed in between the cylindrical section and the flattened shank portion.
 8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein in the step (b), the forming of the working end is performed by a lathe.
 9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein in the step (b), the working end is a hex-head key. 